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Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (RF) as a Novel Plasticizer for Starch-Based Solid Biopolymer Electrolyte

Selvanathan V 1 , Ruslan MH 1 , Aminuzzaman M 2 , Muhammad G 3 , Amin N 4 , Sopian K 1 Show all authors , Akhtaruzzaman M 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Chemical Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Perak Campus, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, Kampar 31900, Perak D. R., Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Computer Engineering, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Institute of Sustainable Energy, University Tenaga Nasional (@The National Energy University), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Polymers (Basel), 2020 Sep 22;12(9).
PMID: 32972016 DOI: 10.3390/polym12092170

Abstract

A starch-resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF)-lithium triflate (LiTf) based biodegradable polymer electrolyte membrane was synthesized via the solution casting technique. The formation of RF crosslinks in the starch matrix was found to repress the starch's crystallinity as indicated by the XRD data. Incorporation of the RF plasticizer improved the conductivity greatly, with the highest room-temperature conductivity recorded being 4.29 × 10-4 S cm-1 achieved by the starch:LiTf:RF (20 wt.%:20 wt.%:60 wt.%) composition. The enhancement in ionic conductivity was an implication of the increase in the polymeric amorphous region concurrent with the suppression of the starch's crystallinity. Chemical complexation between the plasticizer, starch, and lithium salt components in the electrolyte was confirmed by FTIR spectra.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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